Project Purpose
Trees for Water

Location
The project involves plantation of trees on the community lands on the basins of Mej, Menali and Lilri rivers. Tree plantation will occur in 8 villages, namely, Nahargarh, Suras, Mehta Ji Ka Kheda, Chansen, Kathano ka Badiya, Kidmal, Kanti, and Meno Ka Kheda in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India.

Aim

• To improve the hydrological cycle of the region to address the drought conditions.
• To impact the rain-fed agricultural practice and animal husbandry of the area which are the major means of livelihood of the local communities.
• To recharge the water table and improve the water crisis of the area.
• To increase the density of tree cover and prevent loss of soil moisture due to evaporation.
• To improve the natural habitat of prominent wildlife like the Leopard, Jackal, Indian Blackbird, Red-headed Vulture, etc.

Why trees?
The villages chosen for plantation activity face extreme water scarcity. Scanty monsoon fills up to 0.61% of the dam's capacity. As a result, the city receives less than 260 lakh litres of water daily against the demand of 513 lakh litres of water. Officials of public health engineering department supply water via train/ferry (up to 25 lakh litres of water). Plantation of trees in this drought-prone region is expected to improve the water table. The plantation of trees will hold the water with the help of its roots, preventing them both from percolating deep into the soil as well as getting evaporated, (Victoria State Government). The trees play an important role in the hydrological cycle of the forest ecosystems.  Barbara J Bond et al., in her article, ‘How Trees Influence the Hydrological Cycle in Forest Ecosystems.’ Mentions the role of trees in the forest hydrological system.

Tree Species 
Trees species planted here include Khair (Acacia catechu), Indian Elm (Holoptelea integrifolia), Karanj (Pongamia pinnata), Babool (Acacia nilotica), Bel (Aegle marmelos) and Ber (Ziziphus spp.), Siras (Albizia leebeck), Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), and Amla (Emblica officinalis).

Social Impact
Trees planted will generate over 8,000 workdays of employment for the rural communities and will offset approximately 1,000,000 kgs of carbon every year upon maturity. Trees, especially drought-tolerant local species, will provide measures to tackle the consequences of drought. The trees in the desert have deep taproots that utilise deep capillary water and through transpiration maintain the moisture of the atmosphere, which in turn induces rainfall. Tree covers prevent evaporation from rivers, reservoirs, and gravitational and capillary water, thus, maintaining the groundwater table and saving water for agricultural purposes. Planting local trees will help in the sustenance of long-term benefits in Bhilwara.

Adoption Summary: